Key Senate reforms
Here are some of the key Senate rules reforms that lawmakers agreed to early Thursday morning:
Officers and leaders of the Senate as well as committee chairs will be term limited to eight years.
Members will have greater ability to bring bills to a vote. For example, a bill can be taken out of committee to the "active list" for debate upon acceptance of a petition signed by 60 percent of the members (38).
Committee meetings and hearings will be recorded and Webcast, and chamber proceedings will be archived and accessible through the Web site. Additionally, senators want to set up a legislative Cable channel -- dubbed NYSPAN -- to broadcast sessions and joint hearings.
All 62 senators will have equal access to Senate services such as mail and printing, and a formula will provide satellite offices for senators with larger geographic districts so they can better represent districts.
Member items will be divided with greater equity, with Republicans getting one-third of next year's allocation.
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